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From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The Chinese government has lashed out at Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te over his visit to Eswatini, describing his alleged use of other countries’ airspace without permission as dangerous and outrageous.
Speaking at a regular press conference in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that despite what he described as widespread opposition, Lai boarded a foreign aircraft and made his way to Eswatini while concealing passenger information.
Lin also alleged that on his return journey, after access to airspace was denied by relevant countries, Lai again boarded the aircraft and forced his way through their skies.
“The whole thing showed the world how little Lai respects relevant countries’ airspace and sovereignty and cares for the opinion of the world. What he did was extremely dangerous and outrageous. The fact that he would smuggle himself in and out of the country shows exactly that ‘Taiwan independence’ separatism is just shady business and unacceptable to the international community. His act was nothing but a scandalous stunt,” Lin said.
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The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson further said some politicians in Eswatini who were allegedly in Taiwan’s pay had been wrongly providing space for “Taiwan independence”.
“China strongly condemns it. In recent years, we’ve heard people from various sectors in so-called Taiwan’s ‘diplomatic allies’ strongly call on their countries to grow ties with China. Which is the right thing to do? To see where the arc of history bends and follow their people’s will, or to continue serving as a political prop and keeping up the appearances for Lai Ching-te and his kind?” he queried.
He added that politicians in the countries concerned needed to make the wise decision and stop going further down what he described as a doomed path.
“There’s but one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The one-China principle is an international consensus that has solid support and is simply unshakable. The pursuit of ‘Taiwan independence’ is a dead end and its days are numbered. Any new attempt Lai Ching-te makes to advance his separatist agenda will only box himself further in. We urge those separatists to turn back from the wrong path and mend their ways sooner rather than later,” Lin stated.
